According to the American Psychological Association, 92% of workers want to work for an employer that values their well-being. Yet Arizona businesses lose $958 million annually due to turnover and productivity disruptions tied to child care challenges. Family-friendly policies directly address these issues, making employers more competitive in both recruitment and retention.
What are family-friendly policies?
Family-friendly policies are workplace benefits and practices that help employees balance work and family. Here are examples employers can offer:
Workplace Support
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP): Offer counseling, caregiving resources and stress management tools
- Employee Resource Groups (ERG): Provide employee-led communities for working parents.
- Lactation support: Provide private, comfortable spaces for new mothers to pump or breastfeed
- Online subscription services: Give access to networks like Care.com, Tootris and SitterCity, or mental health services like Lyra Health and Modern Health
Child Care Benefits
- Backup child care: Provide access to temporary child care services or providers
- Provider partnerships: Collaborate with providers for tuition discounts, waived fees or priority placements
- On-site or near-site child care: Offer convenient and reliable options that reduce absenteeism
- Stipends or subsidies: Offset the high cost of child care
Employee Scheduling
- Flexible and predictive schedules: Give employees stability through compressed work weeks or hybrid scheduling
- Part-time and job share roles: Keep parents in the workforce while meeting family needs
- Remote work: Cut commute times and ease child care challenges
- Return to work programs: Ease transitions after parental leave
Paid Leave and Benefits
- Parental leave: Provide essential time off for maternity, paternity or adoption leave
- Dependent care flexible spending acount (FSA): Allows employees to set aside up to $5,000 pre-tax dollars for child care.